Subscriber Information
Questions About Your Bill
Service Order Charges
Directory Listings
Vacation Rate/Temporary or Permanent Disconnect
Repair & Trouble Shooting
Statement of Billing Error Rights
Preferred Carrier Freeze Information
To order any service, call 3 Rivers at 1-800-796-4567 or complete this form.
Questions About Your Bill
How Am I Billed?
Charges for your local service and equipment are billed one month in advance. Long distance charges are billed after you use the service. Charges for installing or changing equipment are billed following completion of the work.
When is My Bill Due?
Your bill is due upon receipt. Your bill will be subject to a late fee of $10 if not paid by 5 p.m. Mountain Time on the 23rd day of each month.
What Happens If I Can't Pay My Bill on Time?
Call our business office. We may be able to make payment arrangements in case of illness or other circumstances beyond your control. We urge you to keep a good credit record with us. Late payments may also result in your phone service being disconnected.
How Can I Get Service Restored if Disconnected for Non-Payment?
All charges billed for service must be paid before your service can be reconnected. This would include any amount which you may have received on a new bill. A reconnect fee also applies.
What Should I Do About Questions or Mistakes on My Bill?
Call our business office. A customer service representative will be able to answer questions, investigate possible errors and provide information about bills.
Explanation of Additional Charges:
Access Recovery Charge (ARC): The ARC is a monthly surcharge telecommunications providers assess in order to defray some of the costs associated with terminating calls from other carriers on local networks. This charge is authorized by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
Federal Subscriber Line Charge: This charge is designed to recover a portion of the cost of connecting telephone customers to the nationwide telephone network through the local network. This charge is authorized by the FCC.
911 Fee: This fee funds the Montana 911 emergency telephone program and is imposed on each telephone line. The fee is collected by the Montana Department of Revenue and is used by cities and counties to upgrade and maintain 911 systems.
Montana Accessible Communications (MTAC): This monthly fee funds equipment and relay centers to help speech, hearing and mobility impaired Montanans place and receive calls.
Federal Excise Tax: A tax representing 3% of all local telephone charges is charged to all telephone users nationwide and is remitted to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
MT Excise Tax: A tax representing 3.75% of all local and long distance telephone charges is collected by the Montana Department of Revenue.
Federal Universal Service Charge: The Federal Universal Service Fund provides monetary support to rural telephone companies operating in high cost areas to assist them in maintaining affordable local telephone service. It also funds federal programs such as E-Rate, which discounts telecommunications services for schools, libraries and medical facilities. This charge is recalculated quarterly by the FCC.
Directory Assistance: Directory Assistance is a telephone call you can make to find out a specific phone number of a residence or business by calling 411 or 1-411. There is an additional charge for this service.
Default of Payment or Other Violations of Regulations
Charges for exchange service and facilities for toll and long distance service are due when the bill for such service is rendered. Failure to receive a bill does not exempt the subscriber from prompt payment of their account. The subscriber is held responsible for all charges for exchange service and facilities furnished at their request, for all toll and long distance service furnished at their request and for all toll and long distance service furnished at their station or stations, including charges for toll messages received at their station or stations on which the charges have been reversed. In the event of default of payment of any sum due for either exchange or toll service or both, the use of foul or profane language, the impersonation of any other person with fraudulent intent, or any other violation of the Cooperative's policies, the Cooperative may either suspend or terminate the service.
Service Order Charges
Installation or Change of Service
The one-time charges to install or change your service may vary, depending on the type of work that is done. You will be charged for the work we do to process your order and to connect or make changes to your service. If a technician needs to install jacks or wiring inside your home or business, you will be charged for the time the technician is there and/or for the materials used.
Central Office Line Access
This charge is for work we do to connect your line to our switching office.
Premises Visit
This is the charge you pay when a technician visits your home or business and the service difficulty or trouble is found to have been caused by your equipment or facilities.
No Charge to Disconnect Service
There is no charge to disconnect service. Please call in advance of your move.
Directory Listings
Every subscriber may be listed once in the alphabetical section of the directory without charge. Additional directory listing options are available to meet your personal or business needs.
Every effort is made to make the directory listings accurate. If an error occurs, please call our business office so the listings can be corrected.
- Listed Number
- You have the option of choosing how your listing will read. We can print your entire name and address or offer variations of the same.
- Non-Published Number
- Your number is not in the directory and is not available through Directory Assistance. There is an additional charge for this service.
- Non-Listed Number
- Your number is not in the directory, but is available through Directory Assistance and will be given out upon request. There is an additional charge for this service.
- Foreign Listings
- A listing which contains a telephone number prefix other than the exchange in which it is listed. Examples of foreign listings include toll free (800) numbers or a Great Falls number listed in the Fairfield section. There is an additional charge for foreign listings.
- Additional Listings
- An additional listing is a separate and distinct additional listing in the telephone directory. There is an extra charge for this service.
Vacation Rate
If you're going to be gone on vacation for one month up to 6 months, call your service representative to have your phone put on vacation rate service. The vacation rate is lower than most regular rates and may save you money. Also, your name will be listed in the directory.
This guarantees that you will get the same telephone number when you reconnect your service. This does not keep your telephone number in directory assistance or the directory. There is a charge for this service.
Temporary or Permanent Disconnect
Temporary or Permanent Disconnect will disconnect your service completely. There is no guarantee that you will get the same telephone number back if you choose to reconnect at a later date. Connect fees may apply when activating service.
**If a customer connects and disconnects within a short period, they will be charged a minimum of 30-days service plus any applicable connect or reconnect fees.
Repair and Troubleshooting
Problems with your telephone, including the wiring inside your home or office, or in the telephone company’s outside line and switching equipment, could mean there may be something wrong with one or more of your telephones. We can test your line, but in some cases we won’t know what is wrong without sending a repair technician to your home or office. There may be a charge for this service call.
Troubleshooting
- Check to see if all of your telephones are hung up.
- Perform a visual inspection of all exposed wiring and connections for damage or loose connections.
- When there is more than one outlet, check each phone accessory at each outlet to determine if proper operation can be obtained from any outlet. If proper operation is obtained from any outlet, the trouble has been isolated to an accessory or house wiring.
- In order to isolate jack or house wiring problems, simply move a working telephone to each jack in the house to determine which location is causing trouble.
No Dial Tone
If your phone has no dial tone, please unplug all cordless phones, fax machines, computer modems, satellite dishes, and answering machines from the electrical outlet and jack. Then check to see if you have a dial tone. At this time if you are still experiencing trouble, please call us at 1-800-796-4567 or 611 (from any 3 Rivers exchange).